The present invention relates to a collection/delivery navigation system and a method for accurately and quickly grasping collection/delivery information necessary for collection and delivery of goods and more particularly, to a technique which is effective when applied to a collection/delivery navigation system adapted to determine and indicate a route through which delivery and collection of goods can be carried out efficiently and to manage collection/delivery conditions.
In a conventional navigation system, a person who collects and delivers goods (for simplicity, referred to as xe2x80x9ca distributorxe2x80x9d) by using a distribution vehicle makes a paper plan of collection/delivery route by watching a slip or an instruction liaison notice for collection attached to a commodity and as a result, much time is consumed to determine a collection/delivery route.
In recent years, a system has been realized which can automatically make a collection/delivery route by processing precedently-known information concerning a delivery destination and a collection destination by means of a personal computer (PC) and can offer materials of the made route to a distributor. Another system is available in which information concerning delivery of goods is once registered in an electronic slip and is then registered in a navigation unit to permit navigation.
For example, JP-A-6-111197 discloses this type of navigation system, according to which goods delivery information represented by position information of a delivery destination is stored, in terms of longitude and latitude, in an electronic slip when delivery of a commodity is carried out and a map displayed on a navigation unit issues a delivery instruction by consultation with a map displayed thereon.
In the conventional navigation system, however, goods information represented by only the longitude and latitude information and ID information of a slip is inputted, thus raising a problem that detailed information about a delivery destination such as a residence address and a contact address cannot be obtained.
Further, in practical goods collection/delivery service, it is frequent that in addition to delivery, collection is also carried out and besides, an instruction of additional collection is issued in the course of delivery and collection. But in the conventional navigation system, only the process of delivery of goods is conducted and therefore, that navigation system can be applied to only delivery service. Even if the conventional navigation system is applied to delivery or collection service, there arises a problem that completion of goods delivery or collection cannot be determined when a delivery destination or a collection destination is absent. In other words, in the conventional system, determination of bring-back goods and uncollectible goods cannot be dealt with.
Further, in the navigation unit of the conventional navigation system, only the position information of a commodity is indicated in the form of a pointer such as mark, raising a problem that detailed goods information such as residence address and telephone number of a goods delivery destination cannot be known until a person in service goes to a luggage compartment of a vehicle and confirms a slip attached to the commodity lying in the luggage compartment.
An object of the present invention is to provide collection/ delivery navigation system and method which can eliminate erroneous delivery, missing delivery and missing collection of goods in goods collection/delivery service to greatly improve the efficiency of goods collection and delivery, and to provide a recording medium which stores a program for execution of the method.
According to a typical aspect of the present invention, a collection/delivery navigation system includes in combination an electronic slip, attached to a commodity, which stores information described in a slip of the commodity and has a function of transmitting the stored information in response to an inquiry request from an external device such as a contactless reader of a distribution vehicle and a navigation unit for indicating a collection/delivery route and collection/delivery conditions for the commodity. The navigation unit stores information necessary for collection and delivery and has means for indicating the stored information in the form of a display on a screen and/or a voice.
In a collection/delivery navigation system according to another aspect of the present invention, the electronic slip, which stores information described in a slip of a commodity and has a function of transmitting the stored information in response to an external request for information, stores detailed information described in the slip of the commodity such as residence address, name and telephone number of a recipient or customer, goods name, weight and charge fee, as they are.
The navigation unit for indicating a collection/delivery route and collection/delivery conditions for the commodity has a reader, a delivery information table, a collection information table and a radio receiver set, transmits an inquiry signal from the reader to the electronic slip attached to the commodity, and receives information necessary for the delivery of the commodity, included in the information stored in the electronic slip, from the electronic slip to store it in the delivery information table. The navigation unit also receives information necessary for collection transmitted from a collection instruction unit at a distribution center through the radio receiver set to store it in the collection information table. In an alternative, the electronic slip may store only a master code of a goods slip and in connection with the master code read out of the reader, the navigation unit may communicates with the distribution center to obtain detailed information of the slip.
Collection/delivery route generating means of the navigation unit generates a route through which collection and delivery is carried out by using the delivery information and collection information stored in the delivery information and collection information tables, respectively, and indicates the generated collection/delivery route on an indication or display device.
When a distributor does collection/delivery service in accordance with the collection/delivery route indicated on the display unit, the navigation unit consults the goods information from the reader provided in the distribution vehicle to store delivery conditions and collection conditions in the delivery information and collection information tables, respectively, in accordance with collection/delivery service conditions and displays, as necessary, the delivery information including a delivery destination and delivery conditions and the collection information including a collection destination and collection conditions.
As described above, according to the collection/delivery navigation system of the present invention, information required for the operator of the distribution vehicle including a goods collection/delivery route, detailed information such residence address and contact address, delivery conditions and conditions of collection, inclusive of bring-back goods can be offered in conformity with the two modes of delivery/collection service, that is, delivery and collection, thereby ensuring that erroneous delivery of goods, missing delivery and missing collection can be eliminated in goods collection/delivery service and the efficiency of goods collection can be improved greatly.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from reading of the following description of the embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.